Life can be difficult sometimes and it can be exhilarating. Obviously, there are many quotes that some choose to live their lives by (for example, "YOLO"). Here is a collection of quotes that I've come across somewhere that I vow to always live by.
1. "The trouble is, you think you have time." - Jack Kornfield
First, let me explain that this quote is often mistaken as a saying by Buddha. Kornfield wrote a book about his interpretation of Buddha's teachings and someone somewhere thought that it must have been a book of Buddha quotes. Anyways, I love this quote. It is 100% true. We always wait to do things because we think that we have all of the time in the world, but we never do. It's best to do what you can in the present and never wait too long, or you'll miss your opportunity.
2. "So many people become songs and poetry but will never know: Our world is full of the ghosts of unspoken words and memories." - David Jones
This quote is actually a short poem written by David Jones. It was one of my best accidental discoveries. I think that the poem is pretty self-explanatory, but think about how true it is. Most of us are so afraid to express our feelings to each other that we never say them and the words are left in the broken space between us forever. I don't want to live like that, so I vow to always express my feelings from here on out.
3. "I think a man does what he can until his destiny is revealed." - Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise)
This quote is from my favorite movie, "The Last Samurai." Algren (Cruise) is asked by ally Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) whether he believes a man can change his destiny or not, and this is Algren's reply. It may not seem significant, but I find it to be beautiful in a way. We don't ever change our fate; our fate is based on whatever actions we take throughout our lives. So, we do whatever we can until we learn what our fate.
4. "Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world." - Miyamoto Musashi
I love this quote especially because it reminds us to be humble and appreciative of what we are given.
5. Like a sword, a word can wound or kill, but as long as one does not touch the blade, the sword is no more than a smooth piece of metal. Someone who knows the qualities of a sword does not play with it, and someone who knows the nature of words does not play with them. - Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
This quote comes from one of the best books I have ever read. Essentially, it is telling us that words hurt.
6. "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
I vow to be kind to everyone I meet even if they don't return the kindness. You never know why they may act the way they do. Everyone has a story.
7. "What's important," he'd tell his friends, "is the will to win. In the real world we can't always win. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose." - Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Yeah...there are going to be a few quotes from this book. I love this line because the character is reminding us that nothing is ever perfect. That wouldn't be reality.
8. "I'm not saying I didn't feel like knowing the truth. But after all these years, I think it's better to just forget about it. It was a long time ago, and it's all sunk within the past." - Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Essentially, this quote is saying to leave the past in the past.
9. "You can hide memories, but you can't erase the history that produced them." "If nothing else, you need to remember that. You can't erase history, or change it. It would be like destroying yourself." - Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
I know, this quote is kind of contradicting the previous quote. However, they're a bit different in the sense that this quote is still saying leave the past in the past. Just don't forget about it.
10. "In the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln
Finally, our last quote. I love this because Lincoln reminds us to live. It doesn't matter when we'll die or how. What matters is how we lived our life.
